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Investigating officer, Detective Constable Zee Vallis, said: "This teenager was persistent in his actions to harass girls online and used a number of fake Facebook profiles to add girls that he knew personally as well as those he did not know.

"The girls were then subjected to disgusting and explicit messages, images and videos from the defendant who pressured them into communicating with him.

The warning follows the sentencing of a teenager who groomed girls using social media accounts (Image: Daily Mirror)

"He also started an online relationship with one girl that he knew to be 12 years old when they started talking.

"During their conversations he demanded sexually explicit pictures of the victim which she felt pressured into sending via social media channels like Facebook and Snapchat.

"The defendant then arranged for them to meet on two occasions, during both of which he sexually assaulted her."

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The offences came to light in June this year when a victim was contacted on Facebook and Snapchat by the defendant and sent sexually explicit videos.

She told her parents and it was reported to police.

During the investigation, police examined one of the fake Facebook accounts, which was found to have 67 friends - all of which were young girls.

Officers were able to trace the account to the teenager who was arrested.

The teenager pleaded guilty to the following charges:

Causing a child to watch a sexual act x 8

Possessing an indecent image of a child Category C x1

Causing a child to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity x1

Penetrative sexual activity with a child x1

Attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act x1

Theft in dwelling x1

Criminal damage x1

Possession of Class B drugs x1

He appeared at Guildford Youth Court on Friday (October 13) and was sentenced to a four-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order, including requirement of no unsupervised contact with females under 14 years, as well as various online and computer restrictions.

Online grooming is a type of CSE that impacts both boys and girls across Surrey. It can be initiated through social media, gaming, chatrooms or other online communication. (Image: PA)

He was also sentenced to a two-year rehabilitation and supervision order with residency condition, and a two and a-half-year notification period on sex offenders' register.

DC Zee Vallis added: "His actions will have long lasting effects for his victims who have been traumatised by his actions.

"It is a huge warning to parents that they should be paying an interest in what their children are doing online as they could be grooming others, while parents should also warn their children of the dangers of who they place their trust in.